Underwater safety gear



United States Patent 5.36.1 2 22 4HH4 1 /22/ oo oo 2 2 l l u m m mm A""u n." "u" C .i u ..t. wE n T. m6 m n ma m lk et e flP 5 .l o M BMLOR E49674 N6O 36 Uwwwww 68046 5074 58959 82275 1 33073 6 20 IA 3 23 0 m r Au S F 9% r. em a p S m s a 9 m 11 m- Z7 M M ZWd m y. C mu mew JB7M NB r0. de m N mm H .L Hg 6 p e & m D. MS I A PA 11] 2 1 53 7 2 47 .l rt [rla corporation of Spain Primary ExaminerAdele M. Eager Att0rneyBrumbaugh,Graves, Donohue & Raymond [54] UNDERWATER SAFETY GEAR ABSTRACT: Aninflatable vest equipped with a supply of compressed air for inflatingthe vest, a breathing tube having a hand actuated valve which can beopened to regulate buoyancy and permit the user to breathe the airwithin the vest and an automatic decompression valve which exhausts airautomatically from the vest to limit the pressure inside the vest inrelation to the external pressure.

S AMl 12 42 47 1 l 82 o022 H2612 11A .l. N mm m W2 m w my W H "2 m m WW2""6 n my m mm4 m m In M m m m mmm 4 m m m h hf m 0 C d S .l 0 mk 1 U IF1 1] 2 0 5 55 .l [rt Patnted 0a. 27, 1970 3,536,071

his ATTORNEYS UNDERWATER SAFETY GEAR This invention relates to a vestwhich is inflatable under water from a supply of compressed air toregulate the buoyancy of the diver and to surface the vest with orwithout the diver.

A feature of the inflatable vest of the present invention is that it isequipped with a breathing tube which permits the diver to breath the airfrom the interior of the vest in the event that the divers regular airsupply is exhausted or not functioning properly. The breathing tube isprovided with a hand-actuated valve which can be opened to permit thediver to inhale the air within the vest and closed to prevent loss ofthe air through the breathing tube. The hand-actuated valve also permitsthe diver to discharge air from the inflated vest while under water sothat he can regulate his buoyancy in accordance with the depth of hisdive.

Another feature of the present invention is that the vest is equippedwith an automatic decompression valve which discharges air from withinthe vest when the pressure within the vest exceeds the external orambient pressure by more than a predetermined amount. Thus, for example,if the vest is inflated in deep water where the external pressure ishigh, air will be discharged automatically from the vest as the diverrises and the external pressure decreases, thereby preventing damage tothe vest.

The underwater vest of the present invention is not only a conveniencewhich enables the diver to regulate buoyancy or to surface articlesunder safe conditions, but it is a life-saving device which is capableof bringing him safely to the surface of the water with an auxiliary airsupply under emergency conditions.

These and other advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the detailed description which follows and from the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the underwater safety vest of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the lower region of the underwater safety vest;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 1 looking in thedirection of the arrows; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the underwater safety vest as worn by anunderwater swimmer.

The underwater safety vest is essentially a hollow, inflatable containermade of flexible. waterproof material, such as a rubber backed nylonfabric. The vest has an opening 11 which forms a collar when worn by anunderwater swimmer in the manner illustrated in FIG. 4.

The underwater vest is secured to the wearer by a harness which includesa waist belt 12 and a crotch belt 13. A short apron l4 hangs from thebottom of the vest and carries loops 15 at both ends. One end of thewaist belt 12 is anchored to one of the loops 15, and the opposite endcarries a releasable clasp or buckle 16 which can be fastened to theother loop 15. The back end of the crotch belt 13 has a loop [7 throughwhich the back portion of the waist belt 12 passes, and the front endhas a releasable clasp 18 which is secured to a loop 19 depending fromthe center of the apron 14.

The underwater vest is inflated by air discharged from the compressedair cylinder 20 carried in a cylinder holding loop 21 depending from thelower end of the vest. The air cylinder communicates with the interiorof the inflatable vest through a conduit 22. The flow of air can beturned on and off by the operation of a valve handle 23 which controls avalve at the discharge end of the air cylinder.

One end of a flexible and extensible breathing tube 25 communicates withthe upper region of the vest. The other end is equipped with amouthpiece 26 to permit the diver to breathe the air inside the vest.Thus, in case of emergency when the divers regular air supply isexhausted or not functioning properly, the diver has available anauxiliary air supply.

To prevent the loss of air from the vest through the breathing tube, thebreathing tube is provided with a normally closed valve 27 (see FIG. 3)which is accommodated within a rigid housing 28. The housing 28 forms asection of the breathing tube and is separated from the mouthpiece 26 byan extensible and compressible bellows section 29. The valve 27 issupported on a rod 30 guided for longitudinal movement within thebreathing tube by apertured disks 3], 32 and 33. The front face of theapertured disk 31 serves as a valve seat, and the valve is held inclosed position against the valve seat by a spring 34 accommodated onthe rod and acting between a spring retainer 35 fixed to the apertureddisk 32 and a spring retainer 36 carried by the rod. The spring retainer35 also serves as a guide for the rod 30.

When the rigid valve housing section 28 of the breathing tube is held bythe diver and the mouthpiece 26 is inserted in his mouth, as shown inFIG. 4, the diver can open the valve to breathe air by pushing thehousing section 28 toward his.

mouth and collapsing the bellows section 29. This action moves thespring retainer 36 in contact with the apertured disk 33, compressingthe spring 34 and moving the valve relative to the valve seat to openposition shown in phantom lines in FIG. 3.

Incidentally, the breathing tube 25 can also be used to inflate the vestby blowing into the breathing tube with the valve 27 open. Thus, evenafter the supply of compressed air is exhausted the diver can keep thevest inflated to keep himself afloat.

The underwater vest is also provided with an automatic decompressionvalve 37 which permits automatic decompression of air therein to limitthe pressure inside the vest in relation to the external or ambientpressure. The valve is a relief valve normally urged closed but opens toexhaust air from the interior of the vest to prevent damage thereto whenthe pressure within the vest exceeds the ambient pressure by more than apredetermined amount. For example, if the diver inflates the vest underwater, as he rises toward the surface the ambient pressure decreases,endangering the vest, unless the pressure within the vest is relieved.The automatic relief or decompression valve opens automatically underthese conditions to establish a maximum pressure within the vest inrelation to the external or ambient pressure.

The outer face of the decompression valve housing has a series ofoutwardly extending formations 38 thereon and a series of openings 39therein. The formations 38 keep the face of the valve clear so that thevalve will be in communication with the external pressure through theopenings 39.

The front of the vest is equipped with a pair of pockets 41 and 42, eachhaving a water discharging opening 43 in the bottom. A flap 44, having asnap closure 45, is provided to cover the decompression valve when thecover flap is snapped in closed position. The raised formations 38 onthe front face of the decompression valve also keep the flap raised fromthe outer face of the valve to insure that the external or ambientpressure will be in communication therewith even when the flap isclosed.

The pocket 41 is provided with a resilient holding strap 46 for holdingthe mouthpiece end of the breathing tube when the vest is not inflated.

In the event water enters the vest, it can be removed from a drain plug47 (see FIG. 2) which is normally closed by an insertable plug 48. Theplug 48 is tied to one of the belt loops 15 by a line 49 to preventloss.

The vest in deflated condition is not cumbersome and leaves the diversarms free so as not to impede underwater swimming. While under water,the diver can regulate his buoyancy either positively or negatively inaccordance with his requirements by partially or fully inflating thevest or by deflating it. Because the breathing tube connects with theupper portion of the vest, air can be exhausted from the vest underwater by opening the mouthpiece valve. This is possible because thedifference of pressure of the water column between the lower and upperregions of the vest provides the necessary deflating pressure. Thus, thediver can use the vest to increase or decrease his buoyancy inaccordance with the depth at which he is diving.

The vest can also be used as a lift bag to lift objects to the surfaceof the water to relieve the diver of the necessity of surfacing. If thediver wishes to use the vest as a lift bag he can simply remove andinflate the vest and tie the object to it. The vest will float to thesurface, the automatic decompression valve exhausting sufficient air asthe vest rises to prevent the vest from bursting.

More importantly, in the event of emergency, the diver can use the vestto rise to the surface of the water while at the same time using the airinside the vest as an emergency air supply. The vest is designed so thatin the event the diver passes out or loses consciousness his head willbe perfectly centered and lifted above the surface of the water.

The air tank can be a relatively small size. For example, a tank havinga capacity of .36 liters filled to 150 kg/cm2 of pressure can store 54liters of air under normal conditions. This quantity of air permitsfilling a vest at a depth of 60 meters.

The invention has been shown and described in a single preferred formand by way of example only, and obviously many other modifications andvariations are possible within the spirit of the invention. Theinvention. therefore, is not to be limited to any single form orembodiment except in so far as such limitations are expressly set forthin the claims.

I claim:

1. Underwater safety gear for underwater divers comprising a hollowinflatable vest made of flexible, waterproof material, said vest in itsdeflated condition permitting the underwater diver to descend underwateruntil the diver desires to increase the buoyancy of the vest, a supplyof compressed air carried by the vest, a decompression valve forexhausting air from the vest when the pressure therein exceeds theexternal pressure by more than a predetermined amount, means controlledby the diver for establishing communication between the supply ofcompressed air and the interior of the vest for inflating the vest toincrease the buoyancy thereof. a breathing tube in communication withthe interior of the vest to permit the diver to breathe the air insidethe vest and an automatic pressureresponsive valve in the passage of thebreathing tube and responsive to the breathing of the diver forpreventing the waste of air while opening when the diver inhales.

2. Underwater safety gear as set forth in claim I in which the breathingtube includes a collapsible bellows section and a valve housing section,the valve housing section accommodating the said valve and a valve seattherefor and including means controlled by the collapsing of saidbellows section for imparting relative movement to the valve and valveseat to open and close the valve.

3. Underwater safety gear as set forth in claim 1 including a mouthpieceat the free end of the breathing tube, a relatively rigid valve housingforming a section of the breathing tube and accommodating the valve anda valve seat therein for relative movement, a bellows forming a sectionof the breathing tube intermediate the valve housing and the mouthpiece.an actuating rod for imparting relative movement to the valve and valveseat and extending longitudinally through the breathing tube from thevalve housing to the bellows section, means within the breathing tubefor guiding the actuating rod longitudinally therein, a spring acting onthe actuating rod to maintain the valve and valve seat in one relativeposition and means for displacing the actuating rod against thespringpressure to move the valve and valve seat to another relative positionwhen the bellows section is collapsed.

4. Underwater safety gear as set forth in claim 1 in which the breathingtube is in communication with the interior of the vest at the upperregion thereof so that when the diver is in upright position underwaterthe external pressure differential between the lower region of the vestand the upper region thereof will provide the pressure for dischargingair from the vest permitting the diver to regulate his buoyancy.

5. Underwater safety gear as set forth in claim 1 including an outerhousing for the decompression valve, openings therein to establishcommunication between the external pressure and the decompression valve,a cover flap on the exterior of the vest for covering the decompressionvalve housing and raised formations on the outer surface of thedecompression valve housing to separate the cover flap therefrom so thatthe outer surface of the valve housing will be exposed to the externalpressure when the flap is closed.

6. Underwater safety gear as set forth in claim 1 including a collaropening in the vest near the upper region thereof and a harness forsecuring the lower end of the vest to the diver, said harness includinga waist belt to hold the vest against the diver and a crotch belt toprevent the vest from rising relative to the diver when the vest isinflated.

7. Underwater safety gear as set forth in claim 1 including a drain plugin the lower region of the vest to permit water to be drained therefromand a removable plug for closing the drain p 8. Underwater safety gearas set forth in claim 1 including a short apron depending from the lowerend of the vest and an air cylinder holder carried on said apron.

9. Underwater safety gear as set forth in claim 8 including loopscarried on both ends of said apron and a depending loop carried by theapron intermediate the ends, 21 waist belt secured to one of the endloops, a releasable clasp at the other end of the waist belt forconnection with the other end loop, a crotch belt supported at the rearof the diver from the waist belt and a releasable clasp at the front endof the crotch belt for connection with the loop intermediate the ends ofthe apron.

l0. Underwater safety gear for underwater divers comprising a hollowinflatable vest made of flexible, waterproof material, said vest beingnormally deflated to permit the diver to descend underwater until thediver desires to increase the buoyancy of the vest, a supply ofcompressed air, means controlled by the diver for establishingcommunication between the supply of compressed air and the interior ofthe vest for inflating the vest, a breathing tube in communication withthe interior of the vest to permit the diver to breathe the air insidethe vest and a valve in the passage of the breathing tube which whenclosed prevents loss of the air and when opened permits the diver tobreathe the air inside the vest.

